Nursery Rhymes And Little White Lies
When I was younger, my mom used to take me to a park in Baltimore, Maryland called The Enchanted Forest. With the massive teacups from Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella’s castle ride, and a jungle safari, trips to this theme park gave me the chance to escape from the doldrums of real life.
Here, I got to meet friendly dragons and explore cozy cottages, but this magical world was not a lie – in fact, these visits gave me the opportunity to be a child and enjoy good dreams without a care in the world. Most importantly, I had the chance to bond with my mother, and some of my fondest memories with her are in this park.
Parents use dreams and fantasy to help us understand difficult situations in our lives. Characters like Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, and the Eastern Bunny are not malicious mistruths meant to scare children into behaving, but stories to nurture us, and assist us as we move through the obstacle course that is adult life.
One of my favorite songs is one that my mother bought for me to play on an 8-track player, “Pure Imagination” sung by Gene Wilder:
If you want to view paradise, simply look around and view it. Anything you want to do it, do it. Want to change the world? There’s nothing to it.
My mother showed me that fantasy is not a contradiction to the real world – but something that helps us understand the real world even better. Did your mother use stories when you were younger too? We’d love to hear about them!
